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Sultanpur jewellery store robbery: Three arrested after police encounter
Key suspect surrendered in a Rae Bareli court three days ago after his bail in a different criminal case was cancelled
After nearly five days of investigation, police on Tuesday claimed to have worked out the sensational daylight robbery worth ₹1.5 crore at a jewellery store in Sultanpur. They arrested three people involved in the robbery after an encounter in the wee hours of Tuesday.
On August 28, five-armed assailants barged into the jewellery store owned by one Bharat Soni at crowded Tatheri Bazar of Chowk area in the town and decamped with ornaments and cash worth ₹1.5 crore around 12 pm.
The incident was a major embarrassment for the Sultanpur police as the robbers crossed four police outposts without being noticed. The key suspect in the case, Vipin Singh surrendered in a Rae Bareli court three days ago after his bail in a different criminal case was cancelled. However, one of the assailants was still on the run.
Sultanpur superintendent of police (SP) Somen Barma said the arrested accused were identified as Sachin Singh, Pushpendra and Tribhuvan, all residents of Amethi. He said the trio was arrested following an encounter with a police team near Ghudwah Chowki under City Kotwali police station limits around 3.30 am on Tuesday.
He said the trio suffered bullet injuries in their legs during retaliatory firing done by police in self-defence.
Another police official privy of the development said the three men were members of a gang operated by dreaded criminal Vipin Singh, who has committed multiple robberies. The cop said Singh, who also hails from Amethi, was last arrested around a year ago by Surat police for robbing a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Wajgaon, Surat in August 2023.
Singh was released from the Surat jail after getting a bail only two months before. He said Singh would be taken into custody remand to interrogate him in connection with Sultanpur case.
